Types of Societies

What is a Society? Society: people living within defined territorial borders. a society meets its members’ needs for food shelter not all societies are the same, they have developed since prehistory, and develop to this day.

Hunting and Gathering

People survive by hunting animals and gathering edible foods. Usually these people are nomadic they do not have permanent homes. Their societies tend to be small, less than 50 people. Members tend to share their possessions

Hunting and Gathering Generosity and hospitality are valued “Play nice, or you’re on your own.” There is usually no clear leader Genders have clearly defined roles: Men hunt women gather and watch the children This society has more leisure time than any other

Horticultural Society This society feeds its people by planting crops. The shift from H&G to Horticulture was known as the agricultural revolution. Planting crops can support many more people.

Horticultural Society This society gives rise to large families more family members means more people to help grow food The family is very important. Communities can grow up to two thousand people. People do not have to move as often. The work is very hard.

Pastoral Society Pastoral societies herd animals for food and materials. Those in a horticultural society may have domesticated animals, but they do not depend on them for food like pastoralists. They herd animals that can provide milk and meat. Cattle, Camels, Goats, Sheep They typically engage in trade with others to obtain grain to feed their herds.

Pastoral Society Men are responsible for the herds That puts them in charge of the food Women have a low status in these societies Surplus food means that inequality can occur some will have more than others

Pastoralist Society Because the food is taken care of by a few members of the community, more people are free to try other things like making non-food items pottery, clothing, weaponry These non-food items encourage trade. The Family unit is the primary guiding force in this society.

Agricultural Society These are like a combination between pastoralism and horticultural societies Agricultural societies use plows and animals in order to make farming more efficient. Plows destroy and bury weeds, while digging up nutrient-rich soils that are deeper under ground. Their crops can then grow more effectively. Agricultural Societies produce a lot of food!

Agricultural Societies

Tremendous amounts of food can be produced by relatively few people. Those not engaged in food production can study, and engage in more advanced work. politics medicine music or art Metal work More food means that cities can grow Government begins to take over as the guiding force in agricultural societies

Denpasar, Bali Societies like this exist today. Just because agriculture is their primary, does not mean that they do not build cities. This is Denpasar, Bali.

Industrial Society With the invention of machinery, people could make goods more efficiently. Machines need people to run them People can generally make more money in factories than in the field planting crops. When more people are working in factories in the city than in rural areas producing food, you have an Industrial Society.

Industrial Society Marked by People moving to cities to find work. This is called Urbanization. Work is performed by machines, people are there to run the machines. This is called Mechanization The Job skills needed in an industrialized society require more education. School becomes very important.

Industrialized Societies Two Sociologists were interested in Industrialized Societies. The first was Ferdinand Tönnies. Ferdinand Tönnies divided preindustrial and industrialized societies Gemeinschaft: communities Gesellschaft: society

Gemeinschaft German for Communities Characterized by: Tradition kinship intimate relationships close friendships

Gesellschaft German for Societies Characterized by: Weak Family ties competition less personal relationships

The second sociologist was Emile Durkheim He divided societies by social solidarity the degree to which a society is unified

Social Solidarity Mechanical Solidarity if division of labor is simple (most people doing the same type of work) they develop mechanical solidarity They tend to think and act alike, and value conformity. They place the group above the individual, and emphasize tradition and family

Organic Solidarity In a more advanced or industrialized society, there are a variety of jobs that must be done. There are workers, police, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. Everyone relies on the others, so there is a great deal of interdependence. Social Unity is achieved through complex, specialized statuses that make the society interdependent.

Postindustrial Society Postindustrial Society is where society makes a switch producing goods through manufacturing Services and Information

Postindustrial Society Sociologist Daniel Bell Identified five major features:

Five Features of Post Industrial Society Most of Labor force is employed in services rather than manufacturing or agriculture White collar work replaces most blue collar work. Technical Knowledge is the key organizing feature Technological change is planned and assessed Reliance on computer modeling.